The CA Inter Income Tax Syllabus 2026-27 forms Section A of Paper 3: Taxation under the ICAI Intermediate Course. The syllabus applicable for the May 2026, September 2026, and January 2027 examinations is divided into two modules and five sections, covering the provisions of Income-tax Law from basic concepts to computation and optimisation of tax liability.
While preparing for the Income-tax Law section, you should be familiar with the chapter-wise syllabus as well as the marks distribution of the complete Taxation paper.
The Income-tax Law syllabus is part of Paper 3: Taxation. Paper 3 is divided into Section A: Income-tax Law and Section B: Goods and Services Tax, with 50 marks allotted to each section.
|
Particulars |
Details |
|
Course |
CA Intermediate |
|
Paper |
Paper 3: Taxation |
|
Section |
Section A: Income-tax Law |
|
Applicable Exams |
May 2026, September 2026, January 2027 |
|
Total Marks in Paper 3 |
100 Marks |
|
Income-tax Law |
50 Marks |
|
GST |
50 Marks |
|
Modules |
2 |
|
Chapters |
9 |
|
Sections |
5 |
The official ICAI study material lists 9 chapters under Income-tax Law, divided across two modules.
The Income-tax Law syllabus consists of 9 chapters. Module 1 covers basic concepts, residential status, and the heads of income, while Module 2 covers aggregation, deductions, TDS/TCS, return filing, and tax liability.
Module 1 contains Sections I and II. It introduces the fundamental concepts of income tax and then moves to the different heads under which income is computed.
|
Section |
Chapter |
Units |
|
Section I |
Chapter 1: Basic Concepts |
— |
|
Section I |
Chapter 2: Residence and Scope of Total Income |
— |
|
Section II |
Chapter 3: Heads of Income |
Unit 1: Salaries; Unit 2: Income from House Property; Unit 3: Profits and Gains of Business or Profession; Unit 4: Capital Gains; Unit 5: Income from Other Sources |
Module 2 covers the subsequent stages of income-tax computation, including clubbing, set-off and carry forward of losses, deductions, tax collection and deduction provisions, return filing, and computation of tax liability.
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Section |
Chapter |
|
Section III |
Chapter 4: Income of Other Persons included in Assessee’s Total Income |
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Section III |
Chapter 5: Aggregation of Income, Set-Off and Carry Forward of Losses |
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Section III |
Chapter 6: Deductions from Gross Total Income |
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Section IV |
Chapter 7: Advance Tax, Tax Deduction at Source and Tax Collection at Source |
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Section IV |
Chapter 8: Provisions for filing Return of Income and Self Assessment |
|
Section V |
Chapter 9: Income Tax Liability - Computation and Optimisation |
This chapter introduces the fundamental concepts required to understand the Income-tax Law. It forms the starting point for the Income-tax section and provides the base for studying the subsequent chapters.
This chapter deals with residence and the scope of total income. You need to understand how residential status affects the taxability of income.
Chapter 3 is divided into five units covering the major heads under which income is computed:
Unit 1: Salaries
Unit 2: Income from House Property
Unit 3: Profits and Gains of Business or Profession
Unit 4: Capital Gains
Unit 5: Income from Other Sources
This chapter covers the provisions relating to income of other persons that is included in the total income of an assessee.
This chapter covers the aggregation of income and provisions related to the set-off and carry forward of losses.
This chapter deals with deductions available from Gross Total Income under the applicable provisions of the Income-tax Law.
This chapter covers Advance Tax, Tax Deduction at Source (TDS), and Tax Collection at Source (TCS).
This chapter focuses on provisions related to filing the return of income and self-assessment.
The final chapter covers the computation and optimisation of income-tax liability.
For the CA Intermediate Paper 3: Taxation, Income-tax Law carries 50 marks, while Goods and Services Tax carries the remaining 50 marks. Therefore, if you are preparing for Paper 3, you need to cover both sections for the complete 100-mark paper.
|
Section |
Subject |
Marks |
|
Section A |
Income-tax Law |
50 |
|
Section B |
Goods and Services Tax |
50 |
|
Total |
Paper 3: Taxation |
100 |
The Income-tax Law section includes both conceptual areas and computation-based topics. You can plan your preparation by completing the syllabus systematically and leaving sufficient time for revision and question practice.
Start with the basic concepts: Complete Chapters 1 and 2 first to build the foundation for the remaining topics.
Give sufficient time to the heads of income: Chapter 3 contains five units and covers major areas of income computation, so you should study each unit carefully.
Practise computation-based questions: After completing the concepts, solve questions based on income computation, deductions, set-off and carry forward of losses, and tax liability.
Revise provisions regularly: Tax provisions contain several conditions and rules. Regular revision can help you retain them for the examination.
Practise the complete Paper 3: Since Paper 3 includes both Income-tax Law and GST for 50 marks each, preparation should cover both sections rather than focusing only on Income-tax Law.
The CA Inter Income Tax Syllabus 2026-27 consists of 9 chapters across two modules, with Chapter 3 further divided into five units. Income-tax Law carries 50 marks in Paper 3: Taxation, while GST carries the other 50 marks. Since ICAI does not prescribe a fixed chapter-wise marks distribution, you should prepare all the chapters included in the applicable syllabus and use regular revision and question practice to strengthen your preparation.